


The Best Gift of All

by theundeadsiren (rhoen)



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 09:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5452115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhoen/pseuds/theundeadsiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill is injured in a crash on New Year's Eve, and Janet drops Rick off at the Walkers' in the middle of the night, wanting him to spend Christmas with his friend (and a family she trusts) while she goes to sit with Bill. Sue and Steve are more than happy to have him, and know that Kieren will be overjoyed when he wakes up on Christmas morning.</p><p>For the 2015 ITF Advent Event. Artwork by <a href="http://shivielilac.tumblr.com">shivielilac</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Gift of All

**Author's Note:**

> The art for this piece is by [shivielilac](http://shivielilac.tumblr.com) and you can find it [here](http://intheflesh-art.tumblr.com/post/135398232185/advent-calendar-december-17th). Please be sure to like/reblog to show your appreciation!
> 
> With thanks to furious-winter for the idea, and for being kind enough to beta this.
> 
> Jem has just turned 8, so Rick and Kieren are 13 and 12. Ish. I don't think it matters too much.

**You may not take this fic and edit or reupload it - in whole or in part - without my express permission. This includes translations.**

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Thank you for respecting my wishes.

* * *

 

“I’m so sorry to do this,” Janet said, ushering an exhausted Rick over the Walkers’ threshold. It was two in the morning, and the young teenager was fighting to stay awake, clutching the sleeping bag and pillow he’d brought to his chest. Under his thick winter jacket he was still in his pyjamas, having been woken and hurriedly dressed not half an hour earlier. Sue’s hand reached out and she took his shoulder, gently guiding him into the house, and with her other she took the carrier bag Janet held out, containing a few presents.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sue dismissed, giving a tight smile. She too was in her pyjamas, Steve’s thick dressing gown wrapped tightly around her. “I hope everything will be all right. I’ll keep the phone by the bed - give us a ring and let us know, or call if you need anything.”

Janet nodded, looking incredibly agitated. As much as she hated leaving her son on Christmas Eve, it was clear she was anxious to be on her way. “Will do. Thanks again, Sue.”

“Drive safely,” Sue said in parting. Janet was already edging away.

“Love you, Rick,” she said. “Be good.”

Rick simply nodded, struggling to keep his eyes open. “Love you too, mum.”

And then she was gone, hurrying back to the car parked, still running, in the road. Sue waited long enough to give her a wave when Janet glanced back at the house, and then she closed the door, shivering. “Right, let’s get you set up,” she said gently to Rick. “Do you want anything to drink?”

Rick shook his head, kicking off his shoes and shrugging off the rucksack he wore so he could hang his jacket up. Sue waited for him, and then led the way into the living room.

“It’s too late to go upstairs,” she explained. “Would you like the airbed?”

Again, Rick shook his head, walking over to the three-seater and sitting down, dumping the pillow and sleeping bag next to him as he unzipped his rucksack. He didn’t pull anything out, though, just seemed to check the contents. Sue wasn’t sure if the listlessness and lethargy in his actions were due to his exhaustion, or his worry about his father, and for a moment stood there, full of concern.

“Are you okay?”

“Just tired,” Rick sighed.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. You know where I am if you need me.”

“Thank you, Mrs Walker.” Rick stilled for a moment, and then looked up. “Will you tell me if…”

“Of course,” she reassured him gently. “I wouldn’t worry though. He’s in good hands. Try and get some rest.”

Rick nodded, already pulling out the sleeping bag. He wormed his way into it without bothering to undo the zip, and stretched himself out across the sofa, pushing the pillow under his head.

“Night, Rick,” Sue said, leaving the room a second later. She wasn’t too surprised by the lack of response, and figured that Rick was already asleep.

-

Kieren woke with a start, the air being crushed from his lungs as someone landed on top of him, winding him. The giggling made him groan, pushing at his little sister to try and get her off of him.

“Wake up! Wake up!” she chanted excitedly. Still in her pyjamas, Jem’s cheeks were flushed with excitement, and as she knelt on Kieren’s mattress and bounced up and down he noticed her Santa sack lying on the floor. “Come on! Get up! Santa’s been!”

She was too young to have worked out who Santa really was, but Kieren gave a smile, unable to help himself. It just meant that he got more presents too. Near the bottom of his bed, his own sack of presents was waiting for him, and he tried to hold back the childish excitement.

“I’m up,” he said, to forestall any more of Jem’s excited babble. He regarded his sister and her messy hair. “Did you brush your hair?”

“Yes,” she lied, her jaw jutting out defiantly. He simply laughed, and then ruffled her hair even more.

“Sure you did,” he grinned, kicking off the covers, and his sister. She didn’t seem to care and immediately stood, bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet. Kieren took his time, stretching, before he tugged on his dark navy dressing gown. A glance at the clock told him that it was a little after seven. Grabbing the hem of the sack, he followed his sister from the room. She ran the last few paces to their parents’ room, bursting in excitedly and managing to catch the sack she was lugging on the doorframe. Kieren hoped there was nothing breakable in there.

“Santa’s been!” Jem shouted, launching herself onto the bed. She caught Steve’s foot, and fell forwards gracelessly, giggling. Steve seemed dazed, but Sue was already sitting up, reaching out to turn on the bedside light. She looked tired, but still gave Jem a bright smile.

“Oh, so he has! You must have been good this year!”

She was getting up, and the space she left was immediately filled by Jem, who crawled off of her dad and settled for sitting as close to him as possible, pulling the sack into her lap.

“Can we open them?” she asked eagerly.

“Hold on a minute, love.” Sue said, “I think we should do this downstairs. I could use a cup of tea.”

“Aww! But it’s comfy here!”

Jem bounced on the mattress to prove her point. Steve, still trying to wake up, gave a strangled laugh. “Go on, Jem,” he encouraged. “You can go grab your duvet if you like, I’ll carry this for you.”

“No!” she insisted, already crawling off the bed. “Come on, Kier!”

Kieren, who had sat down a little more decorously at the foot of the bed, shook his head. “I’m okay, Jem.”

As Jem rushed off, the three older Walkers made their way a little more sedately from the room, and as he led the way, Kieren poked at the Santa sack, wondering what was in it. He was trying to feel for the traditional satsuma. Behind him on the stairs, Jem was huffing slightly as she caught up with them, dragging her duvet and the sack with her.

“Can we open the presents under the tree as well?” she asked.

“Later,” Sue replied.

“Not even just one?”

“No, Jem,” Steve said.

“Please?” Jem begged. Kieren smiled to himself at her enthusiasm, reaching the living room door and pushing it open. The lights were still off, so he flicked the switch, already looking towards the tree that stood in the corner, a shadow in the dimly lit room until the light came on. Half a pace later, he froze, eyes widening as he realised someone was already in the room.

“Rick!”

The rush of excitement he felt rivalled Jem’s festive enthusiasm, and Kieren stood there, breathless, as he watched his best friend slowly sitting up, looking bleary-eyed and exhausted. A grin so wide it hurt split his face as Kieren realised he really wasn’t seeing things - Rick was actually there, in the living room.

From behind him, Jem burst forwards, not giving Kieren a chance to take a step towards his friend.

“Rick! Rick! Rick!” she sang, launching herself onto the sofa by his knee, the effort dampened by the duvet and sack she was still grasping onto. Rick looked alarmed, but fought to hide the expression, a tired smile taking its place.

“Hey, Pumpkin,” he said. Kieren walked over to the sofa slowly, and sat down in the space vacated when Rick sat up, moving the pillow as he did.

“A-are you okay?” Kieren asked, now a little uneasy. He’d picked up on the fact that something was wrong. He was watching Rick closely, thinking how vulnerable his friend looked. Rick’s hair was sticking out at the side where it had been messed up by the pillow, and it made Kieren want to reach out and smooth it down.

Rick looked down, playing with the edge of the sleeping bag he was still in. “My dad was in a crash. They took him to the Infirmary.”

“What happened?” Jem asked, catching on. Kieren exhaled under the weight of the news, his heart going out to his friend. Without thinking about his actions, he hugged Rick fiercely.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay,” he said gently. Rick returned the hug with one arm, and half a second later Jem had joined in, snaking her arms around Rick as best she could with Kieren somewhat in the way. Kieren didn’t particularly like Bill Macy, but he was Rick’s dad, and Rick cared about him deeply. He didn’t want anything to happen to him that might upset Rick. Slowly, after he thought enough time had passed, Kieren pulled away.

“Your mum gave me a call when she got there,” Sue explained, moving into the room and turning the tree lights on. “He’s a bit bruised, but they say he should be okay. She said she’d phone around eight. And…” Sue stopped by the foot of the sofa, reaching down to pick something up. “I think this is yours…?”

It was a pillowcase, much like the Santa sacks Kieren and Jem had, and was filled with what Kieren instantly knew were presents. There weren’t as many in it as there were in Kieren’s, but he knew that it wouldn’t matter - it was more the fact they were including Rick. His mum was handing it over with a smile to a very bemused looking Rick. Kieren had no idea where the presents had come from.

“Thanks,” Rick said a little hoarsely.

“Can we open them now?” Jem asked, letting go of Rick and rearranging the duvet around her.

“Go on then,” Sue nodded, sitting on the arm of the other seat. Steve sat down with a sigh, an arm snaking around Sue’s waist.

Jem gave a noise of delight, instantly delving into the sack and picking out the uppermost present, tearing into it. More calmly, Kieren selected a present too, and he glanced at Rick, who looked very much out of his depth.

“Go on,” Kieren urged softly, not entirely paying attention to Jem, who was now removing the toy she’d received from its box. Rick rather tentatively looked into the pillowcase, and Kieren’s gaze flickered to his parents as he realised that the presents were wrapped in the same paper they had in the drawer under their bed.

“There’ll be a satsuma too,” Kieren explained, starting to open his own present. He liked the paper - it was rather pretty - and didn’t want to rip it. Slowly, he revealed a small tin case of graphite sketching pencils. He smoothed his fingers over the case, and looked up at his parents with a smile, thanking them silently. Placing the pencils to the side, he watched Rick unwrapping the first gift, while Jem was well onto her second. Kieren couldn’t help smiling as he saw what Rick had been given, and recognised it from the small stash of gifts in his parents’ room he wasn’t supposed to know about. It was a mini SAS survival book, and Rick flipped it over before opening it at a random page, seeming surprised. He looked up after a moment, at Sue and Steve, but remembered at the last moment not to say anything.

As they worked their way through the small collection of stocking fillers, Kieren found himself nearly choking at one point. Clearly his parents decided that Rick was old enough for such things, or had run out of gifts to give him, but as a box of chocolate willies was unwrapped, Kieren didn’t know what to do with himself. Nor did Rick. After a moment of what seemed to be shock, Rick quickly stuffed the chocolates between himself and Kieren, hiding them from Jem’s sight. A moment later, the two of them started giggling, a little embarrassed by the whole thing. Kieren took his next gift and focused intently on unwrapping it, already having guessed correctly that it was a bath bomb. The set of pencils Rick unwrapped next were, mercifully, drumstick pencils, and nothing to do with cocks.

When their small collections of presents had been unwrapped, Jem was instructed to go and get a bin bag to put all the rubbish into. She took her time, mostly due to the fact she kept trying to bounce the light-up bouncy ball she’d been given on the carpet, and it rolled or bounced feebly away in random directions. Sue and Steve just watched her, saying nothing and smiling to themselves.

“We normally have breakfast, get dressed, and then open presents later once the lunch is on,” Steve explained to Rick, who nodded, squishing the shower gel he’d received. Kieren was actually jealous of that one - it was a blood-bag style packet of ‘zombie blood’ green shower gel, and perhaps had been intended for him. He didn’t know, but when it came down to it he didn’t begrudge Rick the gift. It went towards making him feel a part of what was going on. It had to be horrible spending Christmas with your dad in hospital.

“Thank you,” Rick said, looking up. “Not just for the presents, but for everything…”

Sue gave a kind smile. “You’re welcome, love. Now, Kier, help Jem clean up and make sure she takes her duvet back upstairs. Rick, can you give us a hand in the kitchen?”

“Does this mean I’m off the hook?” Steve asked with a grin.

“Not a chance,” Sue snorted. “Right, come on.”

Jem was meandering her way back towards them, stopping to wrestle with the bin bag when the bouncy ball tangled itself in the plastic and wouldn’t come free.

“I’ll see you in a minute,” Kieren said, turning to Rick. He looked down, at the box of chocolates between them, and took it, safely burying it beneath some of his own things. Rick gave him a small smile.

“Will do,” he agreed, getting up. Kieren watched him, wondering if he should tell Rick about his hair or not. Rick looked so different in his pyjamas, somehow softer and definitely more vulnerable. Kieren liked this side of his friend - the homely side that wasn’t all hard edges and exhausting acting.

Looking around while his parents and Rick went through to the kitchen and Jem danced around with the bin bag, Kieren noticed a few more presents under the tree. Looking closer, he saw that they were for Rick. They were clustered together, making it seem like they’d been put there as an afterthought. Carefully, Kieren distributed them amongst the other gifts, making them seem more like they belonged. Satisfied, he turned and got Jem to stop flailing around, and they quickly cleared up the wrapping shredded wrapping paper.

The bin would be needed later, so they left it by the tree and then headed into the dining room, where breakfast was being laid out; there wasn’t room for five people in the kitchen. Refastening his dressing gown, Kieren glanced back at the tree, wondering if he’d get this year - perhaps some new brushes, or the MP3 player he’d been asking for.

Seeing Rick placing cutlery on the table, Kieren smiled. His friend looked up, and gave him a small smile in return. It suddenly didn’t matter what he got because, to Kieren, having Rick there was the best gift of all.


End file.
